Northampton [UK], June 9 : India A continued to dominate England Lions, increasing their lead to 289 runs at the end of first session of fourth and final day of the second unofficial Test at Northampton on Monday.
At Lunch, India was 268/7, with Tanush Kotian (7*) unbeaten. India A kicked off the fourth and final day of the match at 163/4, with Dhruv Jurel (6*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1*) unbeaten. They had a lead of 184 runs over the Lions, who had scored 327 in their first innings, while responding to 348 runs put up by India A after the Lions elected to field first.
Jurel and Reddy put up a fine stand of 46 runs, taking India to the 200-run mark in 46 overs, before Jurel fell to Eddie Jack after being caught behind by wicketkeeper-batter James Rew for 28 in 51 balls, with three fours. India A was 206/5.
Shardul Thakur joined Reddy out in the middle and both upped the attack, taking India to the 250-run mark in 56 overs. However, soon after, both fell to George Hill in quick succession, reducing India to 268/7. Reddy made 42 in 78 balls, with four boundaries and a six, while Thakur made 34 in 47 balls, with three fours and two sixes. On that note, India ended the first session, with Tanush Kotian (7*) unbeaten.
Notably, India had ended the day three on 163/4, with Abhimanyu Easwaran (80 in 92 balls, with 10 fours) and KL Rahul (51 in 64 balls, with nine fours) being notable standouts.
In their first innings, Lions secured standout fifties from Emilio Gay (71 in 117 balls, with nine fours) and Tom Haines (54 in 88 balls, with nine fours) before a fiery spell by Khaleel Ahmed (4/70) blew away their middle-order, reducing them to 192/3 to 243/8. A fine half-century stand between Josh Tongue (36 in 61 balls, with three fours) and Eddie Jack (16) took them close to India A's first innings score of 348, though they trailed by 21 runs, bundled out for 327.
Anshul Kambhoj (2/56) and Tushar Deshpande (2/62) also delivered solid spells for India.
Earlier in their first innings, India had scored 348 runs after being put to bat first by the Lions. A century from KL Rahul (116 in 168 balls, with 15 fours and a six), a half-century from Dhruv Jurel (52 in 87 balls, with seven fours) and notable contributions from Karun Nair (40 in 71 balls, with four boundaries) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (34 in 57 balls, with five fours) put them in a good position.
Chris Woakes (3/60) was the top bowler for the Lions while Tongue and Hill also took two wickets.
Brief Scores: England Lions: 327 (Emilio Gay 71, Tom Haines 54, Khaleel Ahmed 4/70) trail India A: 348 and 268/7 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 80, KL Rahul 51, George Hill 3/39).
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